Amanda B.
About me
| Amanda B. | |
| Chemistry | |
| Chemistry with a Year in Industry | |
| Undergraduate | |
| James | |
| 2009 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Employability Officer | |
| University of York | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Science and research | |
| Large business (250+ employees) | |
| 2014 | |
| £31000 |
Like this profile?
Add this profile to your favourites so you can return to it later from your account.
A day in the life of a Employability Officer in the United Kingdom
Employability Officer at the University of York
My career goals when I graduated
- Continue in further study (PhD) to help my scientific career
My goals change regularly however and I am very open minded about what I do!
My career history
2009 - 2014 - PhD in Biology and Chemistry
2014 - present - Research Fellow in Biology
2014 - present - Employability Officer in Biology
What has helped my career to progress
Making the most of every experience and being open minded about the future! Also being daring in what I choose to do.
Courses taken since graduation
PhD in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (York and Sheffield)
Counselling Approach to Careers Guidance
How my studies have helped my career
My MChem, specifically my year industry helped me to secure my PhD and research fellow position. The jump to employability officer was a bit further from my research background but the interactions I had previously with students by running informal careers events in the department and mentoring of students in the lab helped me move into this role.
What surprised me about my career so far
How important it is to sit down sometimes and just think about what you want in a career - and taking chances!
Where I hope to be in 5 years
I hope to continue working in higher education and providing support to students, either in a science or careers capacity.
My advice to students considering work
Do your research, look at all the options available to you. Don't worry if you don't know what to do straight away even if everyone else on your course does - they might not actually have thought about it enough! Get some work experience to strengthen your skill set and make you stand out. Practice writing and talking about your skills with someone - you could be amazing for a job, but if you don't present yourself well you could lose out.
My advice about working in my industry
Experience is very important - can you run an event? provide some informal support to other students? Volunteer at the careers service?
What I do
I provide a range of employability and training support to undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Biology department. This includes assisting in the preparation of CVs and job applications, giving students mock interviews and just simply having a chat about careers in general should a student want to. I also run a number events in the department, relying heavily on alumni to come back and inspire our current students.
Skills I use and how I developed them
I use a whole range of skills in my job. Most importantly would be knowledge about the current job market and further study opportunities for students - which I keep up to date with by reading and researching lots and talking to individuals who work in the areas of students will be interested in. Communication is a very important skill in my job, I developed this skill in many areas, during my year in industry and my PhD I delivered lots of presentations and I regularly take part in the public engagement events where I have to talk to the public about science. Through this experience I have learnt about different ways to present complex information to my audience. I also spent a lot of time at York working in societies such as RAG and my college JCRC. This was another opportunity to develop communication, time management and organisational skills that are all valued by employers.
What I like most
My favourite part of my job is the interaction with students and the positive impact I can have on their future.
What I like least
This is a hard one actually - probably not having enough time to do everything I would like to in the job such as more social media, developing new resources etc
What surprised me most
How useful my PhD is to this role. Having a scientific understanding really helps me when looking at students CVs and running practice interviews with them.
Next steps...
If you like the look of Amanda’s profile, the next steps are down to you! You can send Amanda a message to find out more about their career journey. If you feel you would benefit from more in-depth conversations, ask Amanda to be your mentor.